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Another late start saw not only the car parked at Newton Bridge but us double timing along Western Glen Almond to get to Conichan asap to give us a descent chance of a round in the sun. This hill was high on my list because I could not quite make up my mind if it hit my skyline from the daily walk and because this area has recently been in the news with Erin Resources claiming that there are economical gold reserves here to be mined. Any such exploitation will dramatically impact the seclusion of these hills so I really wanted to enjoy them as they are and while I could.
As it was the ATV track leading into Corrie Henzie was steep, so steep that double timing took twice as long! Conichan Castle is a lovely hill, a good vantage point above the steep sided glen that is Western Glen Almond. The name comes from the farm below it and is probably not of any antiquity. Once off Conichan Castle the tops are predominantly peat hags though luckily today they were frozen solid.
No great cairns adorn these hills, just small piles of stones, telling the tale of passing hill baggers. I suspect that in bleak weather navigation would be a challenge but another of those double electric fences traverses the tops giving definition to the line of the ridge. Beinn na Gainimh was appropriately bagged though I had to search for my stone!
![Gainimh.jpg]()
- Fabulous skyline looking South, How many can you work out?
The hills to the North took some sorting out and Meall nam Fuaran, snow covered and from this aspect craggy looked quite spectacular.
The descent started well with the dog rounding up another walker, the only one seen on the hill all day. Hellos waved we parted finding our own descents. I made for the small scheme hydro dam , a mistake given the estate track climbs back up to near the top of Conichan Castle before dropping back down to Glen Almond. All that was left was the walk out after another very pleasant if short day.
